Pathway to Japanese Literature

An invitation arrives!

The Haruta residence was bustling at breakfast.

“Ryusuke, you’ve tackled quite a few cases now—which one did you find most interesting?”

With that, Dr. Haruta laughed and looked at his eldest son, Ryusuke.
Ryusuke was a second-year student at Prefectural No. X Middle School and an extremely intelligent boy.

“Well, putting aside whether it was interesting or not, the one I struggled with the most was definitely that Yellow Diamond Necklace case.”

Ryusuke answered while sipping coffee.
“As for what we call the Necklace Incident, since it was featured in the August issue of our magazine *Tankai*, some among you may recall it.”
“That was the incident where I had a one-on-one duel with that suspicious foreigner—Jansen, the one with the bruise on his forehead.”

“I see—”
Dr. Haruta nodded and said, “Back then, the other party acted out of revenge against you. Speaking of which, Jansen was imprisoned afterward, but do you know what became of that mixed-race boy who was there at the time?”

“I don’t,”
“But he’ll surface soon enough. That fellow’s undoubtedly lurking somewhere, aiming to take revenge on me for Jansen.”

While they were talking, the houseboy entered and,

"A letter for Master Ryusuke," he said, handing over the letter.

“Who could it be from?”

While muttering to himself, Ryusuke opened the letter and found it was an ornate invitation framed in gold.

"I congratulate you on succeeding in numerous difficult detective cases despite your youth."
"I have come from America to study investigative work worldwide and wish to host a celebratory dinner in your honor. Please come by automobile to the Japan Hotel at six o'clock this evening."

"Dr. Metras - American Criminologist"

“Ah, Dr. Metras,” Dr. Haruta said from beside him.
“He’s a scholar famous around the world! Being invited by him is a great honor!”

“But Father—”
Ryusuke looked up and answered.

“Tomorrow in Yokosuka, there’s the test operation for Father’s C・C・D submarine, right? So I was hoping to turn in early tonight, you see.”

“Oh, it’s nothing—even if you’re invited, you can just come back early. You should by all means attend.”

Dr. Haruta was thoroughly enthusiastic and pressed Ryusuke earnestly.
Ryusuke finally resolved to accept Dr. Metras’s invitation.

The two were on watch!!

It was the evening of that day.

Ryusuke headed by car to the Japan Hotel, taking along his close friend Kenkotsu Sota and his younger sister Fumiko.

When they reached the corner of the Japan Hotel, Ryusuke stopped the car and let Sota and Fumiko out.

“Well, I’m counting on you—”
Ryusuke whispered in a low voice.

“Tonight’s reception might turn out to be quite something, depending on how things go. Listen—Dr. Metras’s room is number five on the second floor. See that bright window third from the left? Keep a sharp watch.”

“You betcha, Mr. Haruta!”
Kenkotsu Sota answered while pounding his chest. “Watch duty’s handled. Ain’t used these fists in ages—arms’re twitchin’ like mad. Better be ready for a scrap or somethin’.”

“There’s no one who’d pick a fight on purpose, but depending on how things go, I might need to rely on your fists.”
Ryusuke laughed and turned toward his younger sister.

“Then Fumiko-chan, I’m counting on you to help keep watch too.”

“Huh? Don’t worry! Go on ahead!”

Fumiko smiled softly and grasped her brother’s hand.

Ryusuke hurried toward the hotel with long strides.

The two of them pressed themselves into the shade of the trees and kept a fixed watch on Dr. Metras’s window.

Two thunderous pistol shots.

When Ryusuke arrived at the hotel, three splendidly dressed foreign men in formal attire greeted him and politely escorted him to Dr. Metras's room.

The room already had a splendid dining table prepared, and the three gentlemen promptly led Ryusuke to the table.

“Please wait a moment. The doctor will arrive shortly.”

One of them said in not very good Japanese.
Ryusuke nodded and quietly surveyed the room.

About five minutes had passed when the sliding door opened, and a white-haired old gentleman appeared in the room.

“This is Dr. Metras.”
The aforementioned foreigner informed Ryusuke of this.
Ryusuke rose from his chair and greeted him.
Dr. Metras stared fixedly at Ryusuke with blazingly sharp eyes.

Ryusuke looked at the doctor’s eyes and involuntarily shuddered.
Those were terrifying eyes—like those of a man who had committed murder.

“You there—Mr. Haruta, is it?”
Dr. Metras suddenly softened his expression and spoke in a coaxing voice while settling into his chair.

“I am Ryusuke Haruta.”

Ryusuke answered loudly.

“I think very highly of you.”
“Please continue your detective work extensively from now on.”
“I’ll entrust that matter to you—is that acceptable?”

Dr. Metras spoke these words with obvious flattery.
Ryusuke only gave a terse nod in response.

“Though it’s hardly adequate fare, please partake.”

With these words Dr. Metras encouraged him to eat.
Following this prompting, Ryusuke picked up cutlery alongside the doctor and his associates.

During the meal, everyone remained silent.

When the meal concluded, after exchanging greetings, Dr. Metras stood up.
Then, after giving some order to the man beside him, he quietly left through the same door to the next room.

“Mr. Haruta, please come this way.”

The man who had been ordered by the doctor said courteously.

“Dr. Metras has stated that he wishes to introduce someone to you.”

Ryusuke nodded and stood up.
And while being led by the man, he checked the pistol he had prepared in his pants pocket for emergencies.

The man opened the partition door and, with a bow,
“Please,” he said, stepping aside.
Ryusuke stepped into the adjacent room.
Dr. Metras was sitting facing the large desk.
“Please come in!”
Dr. Metras called out.

Ryusuke had just taken another step inside—when the door slammed shut with a violent crash!

As Ryusuke thought “Hah!” and spun around, the three gentlemen pointed their fists and fanned out to surround him.

“You bastards! You did this!”

Ryusuke shouted and took a step back.
And at that moment,

“Don’t move, brat! This time, I win!” a boy declared as he suddenly appeared in the room.
Ryusuke recognized him at a single glance.

“Agh! You…!” he shouted, involuntarily stepping back.
There—standing before them was none other than that mixed-race boy Charlie, who had committed misdeeds with Pastor Jansen and disappeared from a Yokohama warehouse just as they were about to capture him.

“It’s over, Haruta-kun.”
“No matter how strong you are,”
“One kid against five of us—this isn’t even a fight! Ahahaha! You surrender yet?”

The moment Charlie laughed, Ryusuke—who had been waiting for an opening—sprang at him like a bird of prey.

At that very moment, the room’s light went out.
In the pitch darkness, two pistol shots rang out.

A scream of “Agh!” rang out, followed by the thud of someone collapsing, then—

A groaning sound—"Ugh... ugh..."—could be heard.

Who had fired? Who had been hit? All remained unknown in the darkness.

Would Ryusuke win?
Would Charlie win?

Just who was Dr. Metras in the first place?!

**Kenkotsu Sota’s Daring Feat**

Meanwhile, under the shade of the trees, Fumiko and Kenkotsu Sota were keeping watch, worried about Ryusuke’s safety.

About thirty minutes after Ryusuke had entered the hotel, they noticed that the window of Dr. Metras’ room they’d been watching suddenly went dark.

“What’s happening?”
Fumiko whispered to Sota.

“Ain’t this a blackout?”

“But the other windows are bright!”

“Hmm... Maybe somethin’ did happen after all.”
Sota too was growing worried.

“Let’s go check.”

“Let’s go.”

The two of them hurried to the hotel.

And just at that moment, a single automobile was stopped at the hotel entrance, where two or three gentlemen were frantically loading a long package—about the size of a human body—into the vehicle.

Sota saw the men and, with an “Ah!”, pulled Fumiko into the shadows and whispered frantically.

“This is bad—that’s Charlie, the mixed-race boy! Mr. Ryusuke must’ve been put in danger by those bastards! You need to get back to the mansion right now! And when I call, make sure you can bring the police here pronto! I’ll track where that automobile’s headed!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he nimbly leaped onto the back of the suspicious automobile that had just begun to glide away silently.

Fumiko ran toward town, found a taxi, got in, and had it hurry to her home.

Damn you foreign devils!

What became of Sota?

Sota clung to the back of the suspicious automobile like a lion.
The automobile sped straight through the darkness.

"Where are they headed?"

When he looked carefully, the automobile seemed to be traveling along the Keihin National Highway toward Yokohama.

"Ah—Yokohama," he muttered.
After muttering to himself and continuing to hide, when they came near Kawasaki, the automobile turned toward the coast.
Because the road was rough, the automobile rocked as if battered by great waves.
He clung desperately to avoid being thrown off, and before long, it came to a stop in front of a large red-brick building that looked like a warehouse.

“Aha… So this is their hideout.”

Just as Sota—thinking this—leapt down, a voice like shattering iron barked from behind him.

“Hands up! Move and I’ll blast you!”

Sota jumped up in surprise.
When he turned to look, five rough-looking men stood there with pistols in hand, having appeared at some unknown moment.
They had been at the gate when the automobile entered the garden of the red-brick house, which was how they had spotted Sota.

“Bastard! Pulled a sneaky trick there! But if y’think that’s enough to sneak into our hideout, you’re way off the mark!”

Another villain sneered these words.
The instant Sota’s body snapped backward, his trademark fist rocketed upward into the toughest-looking thug’s jaw.

“Ugh…” The man groaned, collapsing backward unconscious.

“Now!
Get ’im!” shouted the remaining villains as they lunged,

“Come at me!! You bastards! Not fit to stand windward of proper Japanese, licking foreign boots! Sota-sama’ll drag you straight to hell!”

Sota, still hurling abuse, suddenly grabbed the collar of the guy in front of him and—with a shout of “Take this!!”—hurled him several yards away.
“Bastard!” he roared, grappling with the next thug and dropping into a crouch.
As his attack was parried and he stumbled forward, he drove his fist upward.
Just then, one of them who had sneaked up behind Sota cowardly struck him on the head with the butt of a pistol.

“Damn it!” Sota shouted, but then collapsed unconscious on the spot.

C·C·D Submarine

Dawn broke amidst mystery.

When dawn broke, it was the day when the secret test operation of the C·C·D submarine—an invention the world could be proud of, born from Dr. Haruta's years of painstaking research—would be conducted in Yokosuka.

The previous night, after his eldest son Ryusuke—who had been invited by Dr. Metras—went missing from the Japan Hotel with his whereabouts still unknown, Dr. Haruta's concern was far from ordinary; yet even so, postponing the secret test operation remained impossible.

"The test operation is ready!" With this phone call from Yokosuka, Dr. Haruta finally resolved himself. He entrusted Fumiko with watching the house and departed for Yokosuka by automobile.

Upon arriving in Yokosuka, Rear Admiral Yamakawa and other senior naval officers were immediately waiting to receive him.

“I apologize for being late,” Dr. Haruta said to Rear Admiral Yamakawa.

“The truth is… Ryusuke has been missing since last night.”

“What? Ryusuke-kun?”
Rear Admiral Yamakawa widened his eyes in shock.

As they spoke, Dr. Haruta and the others boarded the launch and advanced toward open water, churning up waves.
Offshore, guarded by destroyers, the C·C·D submarine lay moored.
When Dr. Haruta’s launch arrived, the destroyer displayed its respect by lining buglers on deck to play the national anthem with resounding clarity.

Since this was a secret test operation, not a single foreign military attaché was present, and within thirty nautical miles of the coast, not even a fishing boat could be seen.

The moment for the test operation finally arrived.

Dr. Haruta, together with Rear Admiral Yamakawa, boarded the submarine accompanied by the engine room crew and crew members.

Cheers of “Banzai—!” erupted from the destroyer and several naval launches.

Behold!
At last, the world-class invention—the astonishing C·C·D submarine—began to move. With this submarine alone, they could effortlessly triumph over any nation in war.

The submarine remained visible on the sea’s surface for a while, quietly parting the waves as it sailed, but soon began to submerge gradually, until finally it vanished beneath the water.

The officers observing the test operation from the destroyers and launches waited with bated breath, watches in hand, wondering where the submarine would emerge.
Ten minutes—twenty minutes—thirty minutes.

“What’s going on?”
One of them said impatiently.

“I wonder if something went wrong.”

As everyone gradually grew worried, they began to fret.

An hour had finally passed since it submerged, but the submarine still hadn’t surfaced.

Just then, a single gray, suspicious flying boat came into view, approaching from the southern sky.

“Ah! What’s that flying boat?”
While the destroyer’s officers were shouting, the suspicious flying boat swooped in like a falcon and dropped its bombs in an instant.
They fell near the destroyer and exploded, sending up a mountainous spray.

“There!” The destroyer immediately sprang into combat readiness, training its anti-aircraft guns on the suspicious flying boat and opening fire.

Ah! It’s crashing!

In Dr. Metras’s room, what became of Ryusuke, who had begun a fierce struggle in the darkness?

Grappling with the mixed-race Charlie in a fierce back-and-forth struggle, Ryusuke was then pinned down by three mysterious gentlemen, forced to inhale an anesthetic, and finally fell soundly asleep bound in a cross-shaped restraint.

How many hours had passed since then?

Rrrrrrr...

With a sudden awareness of the raucous noise, Ryusuke realized he was lying in a cramped little room, his body still tightly bound.

“Damn it! I’ve been had after all!”
Ryusuke muttered in frustration and tried desperately to undo the ropes binding him, but the tightly secured ropes didn’t budge an inch.

"What in the world... Where am I?"
"What's that rumbling noise...?"
As he muttered this, Ryusuke suddenly noticed a small glass-paned window on the nearby wall. He wriggled closer and peered through it.

“Ah!!”
Peering through it, Ryusuke let out a cry of surprise.

“I’m inside an airplane…!”
Indeed, through the window, he could see the glimmering sea far, far below.
The rumbling sound was that of the airplane’s propeller carrying Ryusuke.

“Damn them! They’ve gone and stuck me on a plane—where the hell are they trying to take me?!”

Muttering under his breath while still peering out the window, he saw the plane drop something black.
As he watched, the black object fell beside the warship floating on the sea and exploded, sending up white spray.

“Ah! It’s a bomb!!”
Before he could even shout, the airplane began dropping bombs one after another.
No sooner had the warship begun to move—belching thick black smoke—than a flash of sparks erupted from its turret as anti-aircraft guns fired.

“Do it! Do it!”
Before he knew it, Ryusuke found himself shouting in triumph and crying “Banzai!” to the warship firing its anti-aircraft guns.

At that moment, the plane seemed to have been struck by bullets somewhere. It lurched violently once before nosing downward and plummeting like a stone.

“Ah!! It’s crashing!!”
Ryusuke yelled as he desperately writhed against his bonds trying to cut the ropes.

The gray suspicious flying boat that had suddenly appeared over Yokosuka and dropped bombs was struck by the destroyer’s anti-aircraft guns and finally plunged deep into the sea.

Skeleton Island?!

As for Sota, who had leapt onto the back of a car, infiltrated the red-brick hideout of villains near Kawasaki’s coast, and unfortunately fallen captive to the gang—what became of him?

Sota, who had been struck on the head with the pistol butt and temporarily lost consciousness, soon came to. When he looked around, he found himself thrown into a pitch-black warehouse.

"What a shame—they got me good!"

While muttering this, he stood up, rubbing his throbbing head where he'd been struck.

It was a bare brick room, so dark you couldn't see your hand before your face. Groping around for an exit, he heard voices coming from somewhere…… He crept toward the sound and listened intently.

“So we’re pullin’ back to Skeleton Island now, eh?”

A low voice spoke.
Sota pressed an ear flush against the wall and listened,

“That’s right—we’ve seized the C·C·D Submarine and captured that brat Ryusuke Haruta alive! Now we’re finally pullin’ back to Skeleton Island! We’ll sell the submarine to a foreign navy and bury that Haruta brat alive at the island’s bottom to avenge Jansen!”

Listening in, Sota was so shocked he nearly let out a cry.

From what those bastards said, it seemed they’d snatched away the submarine Dr. Haruta invented—and even captured Ryusuke—

“Heh heh heh, that’s quite amusing, ain’t it?”
“By the way, this so-called Skeleton Island—where on earth is it located?!”

Skeleton Island!
Where was this Skeleton Island where the villains had stolen the C·C·D Submarine and planned to bury Ryusuke alive?
Sota held his breath and strained his ears.

“Yeah, this Skeleton Island—look, there’s a red line drawn right here on this map! It’s here!”

“Huh— but there’s nothin’ written here, I tell ya!”

“Yeah, Skeleton Island is…”

Just as he was about to explain, Sota—too engrossed—pressed his body against it, causing the door to creak.

“Who’s there?! Who’s there?!”

No sooner had the shout echoed than the villain started to rise. *Oh no!!* Sota thought, pressing himself against the shadow of the door.
Instantly, three rough-looking men forced the door open and came crashing in.

Having come from a bright room into sudden pitch darkness, Sota seized the moment when their vision failed—darting nimbly into the adjacent room and slamming the partition door shut.

He looked and saw a map laid out on the desk.

“This is it! With this, I can save Ryusuke-san!!”
With a shout, he charged toward the door leading to the hallway even before grabbing the map.

Just then, the villain who had opened the door lunged at Sota from behind.

“You bastards! I ain’t losin’ this time!!”

Roaring, Sota executed a hip wheel throw on the lunging attacker, then grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it into the lamp.

The lamp flashed off.
In the darkness, voices shouted, “Ah!!”
The violent sound of things breaking continued.

Not long after that, a black figure ran at full speed toward the town of Kawasaki.

Fumiko’s been kidnapped!!

What had become of Fumiko?

Because Sota had gone after Ryusuke and the mixed-race boy and hadn’t returned, she waited anxiously, wondering if there would be any word from Sota at any moment.

Father had gone to Yokosuka for the submarine’s test operation and was away; only the student, housemaid, and Fumiko remained at the estate.

What’s happened to Brother Ryusuke? What’s happened to Kenkotsu Sota?

As she pondered, Fumiko was drinking her three o'clock tea when an extra edition seller passed by the rear of the house, his bell clanging loudly.

“Extra! Extra! A strange flying boat has appeared over Yokosuka—dropped bombs and sunk a submarine! It’s terrible! Catastrophic!!”

Yokosuka—submarine—upon hearing those words, Fumiko involuntarily stood up.
At that moment, the student who had bought the extra edition rushed in.

“Miss! It’s terrible! The Doctor—!!”

“Father—what happened?!”

“Please read this!”

The extra edition he held out had the following written.

**Mysterious Flying Boat Appears**

Around noon today, during a test of the submarine invented by Dr. Haruta off Yokosuka Bay, mysteriously, the submarine vanished into the sea.
At that very moment, a single mysterious flying boat of unknown nationality appeared and dropped bombs, whereupon our destroyer Matanushi engaged it and finally shot down the strange aircraft.

Taking this opportunity, our Japan will finally engage in battle with certain enemy nations.

“Oh no! Then even Father—?!”

“In any case, let us telephone the Metropolitan Police Department, Miss!!”

The student, also losing his composure, rushed into the telephone room in a panic.
Just then, the telephone rang fiercely, and a call came through from Yokosuka.

When Fumiko answered, the caller identified themselves as the Naval Station and said that the submarine had now been discovered and Dr. Haruta rescued, so they wanted Fumiko to come by car immediately.

“Oh, thank goodness!!”

Fumiko involuntarily jumped up and shouted.

“Father’s safe! Please call a car; I’m going to Yokosuka right now!”

The student looked utterly bewildered about what was happening as he fumbled around calling for a car.

“Alright then, when Sota comes back, please tell him to come to Yokosuka, okay?!”

Having left those words, Fumiko headed to Yokosuka in the car that had come to pick her up.

――Had Dr. Haruta truly been rescued?

The Menace of the Sea Wolf

Along with the flying boat, Ryusuke plunged deep into the sea and remained in a daze for some time.

When he suddenly came to his senses, the ropes binding his body had apparently snapped during the violent tumbling caused by the crash, and his limbs were free.

Thinking Got it!, he frantically clawed through the swirling waves and desperately surfaced.

What met his eyes when he broke the surface?
The crash with the flying boat after being shot down by the destroyer had definitely occurred off Yokosuka, yet when he looked around, there was no sign of naval launches or destroyers—only an unfamiliar peninsula and a small island at the tip.

“Ah!”
“What the—this is strange!”

Stroking through the water as he swam, he tried to think but couldn't make sense of it; determined to reach the visible island no matter what, he swam with all his might. But strangely enough, no matter how much he swam, he didn't get closer to the island—not only that, but he was being rapidly swept out to sea.

"This is weird—if I'm not careful, I might drown!"
With that thought, he swam desperately—but the arrow-like current showed no mercy, sweeping Ryusuke two or three hundred meters out to sea in an instant.

Now his limbs had gone limp as a sea cucumber, sapped of all strength to swim—leaving him no choice but to entrust his fate to heaven and drift with the current.

After being tossed by the waves for another thirty minutes, Ryusuke—spotting a fishing boat hoisting its sails as it approached—finally found the strength to shout, "He—elp!" while swimming toward the vessel.
Soon enough, the fishing boat seemed to have spotted him too, waving a white cloth from the deck while—

“Heeey! We’re coming right now—” they shouted repeatedly, setting their sails and manning four oars as they rowed closer.

When he was helped up onto the fishing boat, Ryusuke fainted from exhaustion and relief.

After some indeterminate amount of time had passed, Ryusuke suddenly came to his senses and looked around—he found himself laid out beside the hearth in a fisherman’s house, where the fishermen who had rescued him earlier were watching over him with worried expressions.

“Oh, you’ve come to your senses! Thank goodness—we can rest easy now.”
The elderly fisherman, seeing Ryusuke with his eyes wide open, called out joyfully.

“Ah, I was saved, right?”
Ryusuke grasped the old fisherman’s hand and involuntarily shouted in a tearful voice.

“Thank you, thank you everyone!!”

“Ain’t no need for thanks. Now, where’re you from?”

“I’m from Tokyo, but off Yokosuka… I accidentally fell from a ship.”

“Huh? Yokosuka, you say?”
The fisherman opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Well I’ll be! You’ve done something mighty reckless—you rode the Sea Wolf!”

“What is the Sea Wolf?”

“This here’s Shirahama in Bōsō Province, y’see? You rode that Sea Wolf and traveled thirty ri through the ocean in just about an hour.”
“The Sea Wolf’s a demon, I tell ya!”

And the old fisherman told the story of the Sea Wolf.

Ryusuke returned.

At a certain point off Yokosuka, there existed a mysterious current known only to local fishermen.

It grew especially fierce during high and low tides, and once caught in that current, even the largest ships would be dragged to the ocean’s depths, reduced to dust, then cast out a full twenty nautical miles offshore from the Bōsō Peninsula.
The local fishermen feared this devilish current, calling it the “Sea Wolf.”

“You got yourself caught in that Sea Wolf—ain’t nothin’ but a miracle you survived. Best rest up proper now.”

After hearing the old fisherman’s story, Ryusuke Haruta shuddered anew at the terror of the Sea Wolf.

And so, after resting for a day, Ryusuke Haruta—more concerned about his home than anything else—shook off the fishermen’s attempts to stop him and hurried back to Tokyo.

He arrived at Ryogoku Station in the evening, and the lights were already on in the streets and alleys of Tokyo.
With a somehow nostalgic feeling as if he had been on a long journey for two or three years, Ryusuke stood captivated for a while by the town’s lights and bustle.

After driving straight home from Ryogoku by car, Ryusuke was about to leap into the entrance when he collided head-on with Kenkotsu Sota, who came rushing out from inside with a panicked expression.

“Ah! Young master! It’s you!”

“You called me ‘Young master’ again?!”

“Ugh! Who’s got time to fuss about names in a mess like this?! Can’t believe you’re unharmed—what the hell happened?!”

“Well, that can wait until later. By the way—was there any trouble at the house?”

“No trouble?! You kidding?! Everything’s been a complete mess since then!”

“Huh?! So something happened?”

“Whether somethin’ happened or not—well, the thing is…”

Then Kenkotsu Sota laid it out plain: how he’d been snatched up himself; how Dr. Haruta had vanished clean off the map with that submarine; and how Fumiko—suckered by some phone jockey saying “Get yourself to Yokosuka if you wanna save the Doc”—had lit out solo in a motorcar and disappeared too.

Now then—what kinda hell-raising would Ryusuke cook up next?

This is it!! The Skeleton Island map

“And then those bastards said they’d bury Mr. Ryusuke alive under Skeleton Island and sell the C·C·D submarine to foreign military spies!”

“Didn’t you ask where that Skeleton Island is?”
Ryusuke pressed urgently.

“I snatched the map! Please come here!”

Having said that, Sota took the lead and dashed into the house.

“This is it.”

Having said that, Sota spread out a large military map.
“They said the spot with the red line here’s the one, yeah?”

“But there’s no island there at all.”

Indeed, while a red line was drawn on the map, no island was marked.

“That’s just it! When I was eavesdroppin’ next door, one guy goes, ‘Hey, there ain’t no island here,’ and the other starts sayin’, ‘Right—the thing ’bout Skeleton Island is…’ But then I made a noise, and we got into a huge scrap! Never heard the rest!”

“Hmm...”

Ryusuke Haruta stared at the map while listening to Sota's explanation, his thoughts growing deeper and more intense.
"The missing C·C·D Submarine... the mysterious flying boat... Skeleton Island... What connects them?"

However, Ryusuke soon leapt up like a rabbit.

“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!!”

Ryusuke leapt at the telephone like a madman, calling the Yokosuka Naval District to request that two destroyers and two flying boats be readied for combat and dispatched immediately.

“Alright, Sota-kun! Full assault!! We’ll round them up in one fell swoop—full assault!! Full assault!!”

Sota, utterly bewildered and not fully grasping the situation, jumped up as well upon hearing talk of destroyers and combat preparations, shouting—

“Full assault!! It’s war!!!”

She was forced to inhale anesthetic.

However, on the other hand, the submarine had been discovered!
Father had been rescued!

Upon hearing that phone call and overwhelmed by joy, Fumiko rushed into the waiting car and headed for Yokosuka without a second thought—but what became of her?
Fumiko’s only thought was how desperately she wanted to see her father’s safe face even a moment sooner; her heart raced with anticipation even inside the car.
Then, just as the car passed through Yokohama and was approaching Hodogaya and Totsuka—
One of the assistants, who had been riding in the driver’s compartment, suddenly leapt toward Fumiko’s seat.

“Huh?! What are you doing?!”

Startled, just as Fumiko tried to rise, the suspicious assistant pounced on her like a tiger, seizing her shoulders and pressing a foul-smelling handkerchief against her nose.

“Oh—I was deceived. I was lured out by a fake phone call—how infuriating!”

Thinking this, Fumiko writhed desperately to break free, but as she inhaled the foul odor from the handkerchief pressed against her nose, her head grew foggy, and she felt herself being dragged down as if into the depths of the sea—until finally, her consciousness faded away.

“You little brat had to go and cause us trouble!”

After saying that, the ruffian laid Fumiko—who had fallen unconscious from the anesthetic—down there and bellowed.

“Full speed ahead!”

The car raced down the dusk-approaching road like an arrow.

The Skeleton Island Trap

Several hours had passed.

Fumiko suddenly came to her senses.

When she looked around, she found herself lying alone in a small, pitch-black room.

She jumped up and, wondering if there was an exit somewhere, crawled around while feeling her way until she fortunately found what seemed to be a doorway. There, she quietly opened the door and stepped out into a dark corridor. Since a clammy, cold wind was blowing from that direction—likely where the exit lay—Fumiko muffled her footsteps and hurried toward the source of the breeze.

When she thought she had come about thirty meters, Fumiko caught the sound of human voices nearby. When she stopped and listened, it was coming from the room immediately to her left. Stealthily pressing herself against it, the voices inside came through crystal clear.

“That Ryusuke brat got swept up by the Sea Wolf, so he’s probably fish food by now.”

“But since we snatched the little sister instead of the brat, why don’t we bury that girl alive on this Skeleton Island?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”
“After all, once it hits 2:10 PM, the 300 kan of gunpowder under the island’s gonna blow.”
“Then this Skeleton Island, the girl, and that Dr. Haruta will all be blown to smithereens!”

“So we’re gonna sell the C·C·D submarine to Dr. Metras and get the hell outta Japan.”
“Ah! How delightful! Ahahahaha!”

Fumiko shuddered violently where she’d been listening.

She realized she’d been kidnapped and brought to their den of villains—Skeleton Island—and that Dr. Metras was actually a foreign military spy who’d come to steal the submarine’s secrets.

Everything became clear to Fumiko. But now, everything was already over.

Her brother Ryusuke had been swept into the Sea Wolf and died. Father and I would soon be crushed along with Skeleton Island by the 300 kan of explosives.

“Ah, God!!!”

Fumiko involuntarily cried out and collapsed there in tears.

It was at that moment.
From the far end of the corridor, a single ruffian came running while shouting and cursing like a madman.

“Everyone, it’s bad! The Navy’s closing in! Destroyers are coming! It’s bad! It’s baaad!!”

Full assault!

At that moment!!

Off Yokosuka, two destroyers, armed for wartime, were quietly advancing southward.

Aboard the lead destroyer stood young Ryusuke Haruta, binoculars in hand, alongside the captain.
Overhead flew two flying boats, guarding the naval vessels like watchful sentinels.

"What time is low tide?"
Ryusuke inquired.

The captain checked his wristwatch.

"Ten minutes to two! It's currently 1:30—low tide in twenty minutes!"

Ryusuke nodded and, while spreading out the map of Skeleton Island, began glaring intently at the compass.

The destroyer soon rounded Misaki and set its course toward the outer Bōsō Peninsula.

After proceeding for twenty minutes, the tide was now at the absolute peak of low tide.

Ryusuke, who had been comparing the map and compass, eventually nodded and handed a command sheet to the signalman; the signalman immediately signaled the two flying boats overhead—

“Drop the bombs on the target location!”

The flying boats swiftly began circling lower.

“Captain!”
Ryusuke turned to the captain and said.

“Please have the machine guns prepared for firing.
“They’ll show up any moment now, so...”

“Approved!”
The captain’s order was issued.
On the two destroyers, two machine guns each were loaded with live ammunition and prepared, ready to fire at any moment.

At that moment, the bomb dropped by the flying boat fell into the swirling Sea Wolf and exploded, sending up a mountain-like column of water spray.
There! Another explosion! There!
Another one, there!!! There!!!

In an instant, the sea surface was shrouded in water spray, and the seawater foamed like boiling water.
All the people manning the guns on the destroyer gazed at the sea surface with bated breath, as though a monster might emerge at any moment.

Dr. Metras was thrown into utter panic.

“It’s terrible!
“It’s baaad!!”
The henchman came running while screaming as if to tear his throat; upon hearing his voice, the Skeleton Island villains panicked as if fire had been lit beneath their feet, scrambling in utter chaos.

Amidst this chaos, a black-masked foreigner shouted at the top of his voice.

“Everyone, stop panicking! This island can’t be seen from the sea above. There’s no way they could know. Shut up!!”

However, before those words could even finish, a tremendous sound—like the heavens themselves shattering—roared overhead with a *ZZZZZRRRUMBLE!*

“There!”
“There!!”
“They’re here!!!”
As the villains turned pale and shouted, once again a terrifying roar—ZZZZZRRRUMBLE—resounded.

“Get outside!!” someone shouted.

“That’s right—get outside! They’re dropping bombs! If we stay here like this, they’ll blow this island apart!”

Another ruffian bellowed.
The rough men who’d been teetering on edge collapsed into disarray en masse at those words.

With a collective “Waaah!”, they stampeded into the hallway.

The masked foreigner tried desperately to stop them at full volume—but when he spotted the breathless boy charging in, he ripped off his mask and roared.

“Charlie! What’s this?!”

When the mask was removed, it was none other than Dr. Metras.
The mixed-race boy Charlie came rushing in,

“You bastard!”
“It’s that Ryusuke guy again!”
“He wasn’t taken out by the Sea Wolf.”
“Right now he’s commanding two destroyers and two flying boats to attack!”
“There’s no way to escape now!”

“Good!”
Dr. Metras nodded.

“Then let’s try to flee as far as we can in that seized C·C·D submarine. Come!”

With that, Metras took the lead and guided Charlie.

Full assault!! Full assault!!

On the destroyer, Ryusuke raised one hand and glared at the sea surface.
The people waited with bated breath, gripping their hands in sweat, for Ryusuke’s hand to drop at any moment.

“Ready!”
Ryusuke shouted.

Behold! As the seawater suddenly began to foam, unexpected!! Unexpected!! There—slowly and eerily—an island approximately 100 meters square had risen up before their very eyes!
The people involuntarily,

“Ah!!!” they exclaimed in astonishment.

Instantly, two machine gun emplacements jutted out from the island’s shadow.
In the nick of time, Ryusuke swung down his hand.
With a *ZZZZZRRRUMBLE*, the two destroyers’ four machine guns seized the initiative against the enemy and began their simultaneous bombardment.
The enemy proved cunning—taking cover in the island’s shadow and swiftly deploying four or five machine guns that returned fire with a staccato rattle like frying beans.

At that moment, a signal came from a single flying boat that had been flying at low altitude.《The enemy is attempting to flee toward the Pacific Ocean from behind the island via submarine.》"Damn it!" Ryusuke shouted.With that shout, Ryusuke immediately sent a return signal.《Immediately land on water.》Flying Boat No. 100 immediately landed on water beside the destroyer.Aboard it was that very Kenkotsu Sota."Hey, young master! Hurry up, please!""That's definitely the C·C·D submarine!"

“Alright.”
“Then, Captain, I leave the attack on Skeleton Island to you.”
“What’s more, my father and sister might be on that island!!”
Ryusuke requested that of the captain and, nimbly boarding the flying boat, charged into the sky.

“All hands, full assault!!”
The captain shouted this and sent the signalman running.
Two more machine guns each opened fire.
The six cannons unleashed their fire like rain upon Skeleton Island.

Undersea Brawl

Meanwhile, the flying boat flew south while maintaining low-altitude flight.

“Look! It’s visible over there.”

If the flying officer looked down at the sea he was indicating, sure enough, beneath the deep blue waters, a black whale-like object was advancing southward at a fearsome speed.

“That’s right! There’s no submarine that can achieve such speed other than the Haruta-style C·C·D submarine.”
"But how on earth should I stop that thing?"

Even the usually unflappable Ryusuke racked his brain, deep in thought.

“Let’s drop a bomb.”

“But what if it hits the submarine?”

“No worries! We’ll make sure it doesn’t hit!”

The officer said this with confidence, forcefully lowering the flying boat as he executed a sharp turn around the charging submarine’s bow and released a bomb.
The bomb plunged deep underwater before detonating.

“There!”
The officer shouted, “They’ve changed course!”

True enough, the submarine that had taken a direct hit at its bow now swayed violently as it veered sharply leftward.

Then the flying boat—as if poised for this exact moment—dropped another bomb squarely at its bow.
The submarine swerved right in mounting panic only to meet another bomb at its bow.

After five such strikes—perhaps conceding defeat—the submarine finally breached the surface with a gush of frothing bubbles.

The flying boat that had been waiting for this moment circled around and landed beside it.

“Sota!”
“Come!!” shouted Ryusuke.
“Comin’!”

Pistols in hand, Ryusuke and Sota nimbly leapt onto the submarine.

Prying open the iron plate, the two slid down the hatch like monkeys.
Below, Dr. Metras and Charlie were lying in wait.

“Here you are, brat!” shouted Dr. Metras.

“It’s over, Metras! Charlie, steel yourself—this time I won’t let you escape!!”
“You bastard—I’ll pound you to pulp!”

Even as he spat these words, the mixed-race youth Charlie whipped out the pistol he’d concealed—Bang!
Bang!
He loosed two shots in quick succession.

“Ah! Damn!!”
Having shouted, Ryusuke suddenly collapsed there.
Seeing this, Sota growled “Bastard!!” and leapt at Dr. Metras like a rat.

“How about it, brat? Are you trembling before the skills of Charlie-sama, the mixed-blood prodigy?”

As he said this, at the very moment he tried to kick the fallen Ryusuke in the side—Ryusuke sprang up, clenched his fist, and with all his might drove an uppercut into Charlie’s jaw from below. Ryusuke hadn’t been shot.

“Ugh!” With a groan, the bastard staggered—and Ryusuke leapt at him.
Without even pausing to knock him down, he immediately followed up with an iron fist strike to finish him off.

“That’s harsh, young master!”
From across the way, Sota called out, “Now that’s stealin’ Kenkotsu Sota’s thunder right there!!”

And so Charlie, the mixed-race boy, and Dr. Metras were both beaten down like soggy dishrags.

Case Closed

The gang of Skeleton Island had already been captured by the destroyer at that time.

Needless to say, Fumiko and Dr. Haruta had been safely rescued.

Just then, Ryusuke and Sota returned after reclaiming the C·C·D submarine and apprehending Metras and Charlie, so the entire group let out cheers of joy and set course back to Yokosuka.

Just as everyone was rounding Cape Misaki, an earth-shattering roar erupted. When they turned to look, the area where Skeleton Island had stood was now shrouded in thick clouds of water vapor.

“Skeleton Island was pulverized by 300 kan of gunpowder.”
“That dreaded Sea Wolf is gone for good!”
From aboard the destroyer, Ryusuke declared in a deeply moved tone.
Everyone equally watched with heartrending emotion as the lingering water vapor showed no sign of dissipating.

“Now then, let me explain how I discovered Skeleton Island’s location!” declared Ryusuke days later at a celebratory banquet hosted by naval officers and university scientists.

“When I crashed in the flying boat, I was caught in the Sea Wolf current and swept over thirty ri in just an hour. Then, upon examining the red lines on this map, I realized they perfectly matched the Sea Wolf’s path.”
“I concluded that the villains must have used the Sea Wolf’s current to construct an artificial island called Skeleton Island beneath the waves, rigging it with traps as their hidden base.”
“During the C·C·D submarine’s test operation, they used both the Sea Wolf’s ferocious current and machinery installed on Skeleton Island to lure the submarine there and conceal it.”
“Furthermore, Dr. Metras was a military spy dispatched from XX country—just like that Pastor Jansen—who had been forcing them to photograph fortified areas, all of which we’ve now confiscated.”
“Now, allow me to introduce one close friend to everyone.”
Having said that, Ryusuke made Sota, who was beside him, stand up. “This is my friend Mr. Kenkotsu Sota, who always risks his life for my sake.”
“He was the primary contributor in this case as well!!”

Kenkotsu Sota raised his face, gave a jerky clumsy bow, and stammered out:

“Um, uh, m-my boss is Mr. Ryusuke Haruta, and I-I’m Kenkotsu Sota! I ain’t scared of arrows or bullets neither! Ahem!”

And thus, the grand adventure of Skeleton Island came to its triumphant conclusion.